2023 Development and production review

Abstract

Geopolitical uncertainty remained high in 2023 with Israeli actions in the Gaza strip, the continuing war in Ukraine and tension between China and several neighbouring countries. However, global inflationary pressures, surprisingly, eased during the year, and the prospect of a global recession faded from where it had been in 2022. In Australia continued activism around climate change issues, has impacted project developments and sentiment in the industry remained subdued. This paper looks back at the oil and gas production and development activities in Australia in 2023 providing historical context and trying to understand future implications for the industry. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) production in Australia remained close to record high levels although, not without problems. Both the Scarborough/Pluto 2 LNG project and the Barossa project continued to have legal and approval hurdles resulting in suspension of some execution activities. Elsewhere other projects continued with their plans, including the Kipper field in the Gippsland Basin, the Crux project in the Browse Basin and the Walyering project in the Perth Basin which was brought online in September 2023. The domestic markets also continued to have unique issues with major concerns about gas supply in the East, stalled developments and failing supply in the Northern Territory, and a renewed ban on any exports (including to other states) of gas from Western Australia.